Resilience amid tension:
How to sustain and continue thrive under geopolitical pressure through proactive actions and strategic negotiation : The Indian way….
Geopolitical tensions—manifested in protectionism, trade wars, sanctions, and export controls—are fundamentally reshaping global commercial practices. India's strategy and upfront negotiation with US government to limit the impact of expected tariff hike brings in some interesting learnings :
(a) Early Engagement & First-Mover Advantage : Rather than retaliate with own tariffs, India engaged early to leverage its “first-mover advantage” by entering negotiations even before U.S. duties took effect. This allowed India to shape the discussion, signal responsibility, and avoid reactive escalation.
(b) Selective concessions while protecting core interests : More than 60% of India population is engaged in Agricultural sector. Their interest is paramount to India's success story. India firmly protected sensitive sectors like dairy, rice, wheat, and some specific crops. Though this still remains a sticky point for US government, through strategically offering tariff reductions in areas such as nuts (almonds, cranberries), medical devices, autos, energy, etc., India has shown its flexibility on negotiation table.
(c ) Reciprocity and Legal Assurance : India pushed for assurances that no additional U.S. tariffs would be imposed post-agreement.
(d) Macro-Level Negotiation Framework : Moving beyond line-by-line deals, India is pursuing a broader bilateral trade agreement to address goods, services, non-tariff barriers, and supply chain integration—with a $500 billion trade target by 2030.
(e ) Domestic Support for Exporters : To offset tariff pressure, India is planning export incentives like interest-rate subsidies, loan insurance, marketing support, and diversification into Latin America and Africa. (So now we know why Modi ji is on Africa tour !!). These measures will surely help reduce dependency on U.S. markets and cushion short-term shocks.
(f) Long-Term Trade Diversification : India is accelerating trade deals with the EU, UK, and other regions to lessen dependency on any single geopolitical partner. This will ensure resilience as global trade patterns shift.
By combining early action, strategic trade-offs, reciprocity guarantees, broad-based frameworks, export support, and global diversification, India offers a robust playbook. But will all these action finally conclude in a win-win. Let’s hope good judgement prevails.